Office of the Mayor City of Seattle Jenny A. Durkan, Mayor
Executive Order 2021-06: COVID-19 Civil Emergency – Extensions of City Closures and Relief Measures An Executive Order directing City departments to further extend their actions to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and to mitigate the impact of the public health emergency on the people of Seattle.
WHEREAS, in my capacity as Mayor, I proclaimed that a civil emergency exists in the City of Seattle in the Mayoral Proclamation of Civil Emergency dated March 3, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on March 4, 2020, Public Health – Seattle & King County issued guidance recommending that people at higher risk of severe illness should stay home and away from large groups of people as much as possible, including public places; and
WHEREAS, on March 10, 2020, I issued Executive Order 2020-03 to provide assistance to Seattle’s small businesses and their workers; and
WHEREAS, Executive Order 2020-03 also directed Seattle Public Utilities and Seattle City Light to enroll more income eligible customers in the Utility Discount Program, exercise flexibility with customers, including instituting payment plans, and avoid utility shut-offs whenever possible; and
WHEREAS, on March 11, 2020, Washington Governor Jay Inslee prohibited all gatherings of 250 or more in western Washington and Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County also prohibited gatherings of 250 or less unless certain precautions were undertaken; and
WHEREAS, as a result, on March 12, 2020, I directed the Seattle Public Library and Seattle Parks and Recreation to close all public-facing indoor facilities through April 13, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on March 13, 2020, I temporarily suspended permitted events in the City of Seattle; and
WHEREAS, in March 2020, the Seattle Department of Transportation announced new parking rules and procedures to reflect people staying at home, the transition of restaurants to take-out only, and the shortage of parking around medical facilities; and
WHEREAS, on March 16 and 17, 2020, I issued Emergency Orders placing a temporary moratorium on residential evictions, as well as evictions of small business and non-profit organization commercial tenants, respectively; and
Office of the Mayor | 600 Fourth Avenue, P.O. Box 94749, Seattle, WA 98124 | 206-684-4000 | seattle.gov/mayor Executive Order 2021-06 (Continued Extension of COVID-19 Closures and Relief Policies) Page 2 of 5 June 18, 2021
WHEREAS, Washington Governor Jay Inslee issued a “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order on March 23, 2020, asking non-essential workplaces to close and people to stay home except for necessary trips until midnight on April 6, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on April 2, 2020, Governor Inslee extended the “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order through May 4, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on April 6, 2020, I issued Executive Order 2020-04, to align a number of City closures and relief measures to Governor’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order through May 4, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on May 1, 2020, Governor Inslee further extended the “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order through May 31, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on May 1, 2020, I issued Executive Order 2020-05, which further aligned City closures and relief measures to the Governor Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order through May 31, 2020, and additionally extended the City’s temporary moratoriums on residential and commercial evictions of small business and non-profits through June 4, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on May 31, 2020, Governor Inslee issued a Proclamation transitioning from “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” to “Safe Start, Stay Healthy,” a county-by-county phased approach to reopening through July 1, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on June 2, 2020, Governor Inslee issued a Proclamation temporarily prohibiting residential evictions and temporarily prohibiting commercial property landlords from increasing the rate of rent if the commercial tenant has been materially impacted by the COVID-19 emergency, through August 1, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on June 3, 2020, I issued Executive Order 2020-06, which further extended the City’s temporary moratoriums on residential and commercial evictions of small business and non-profits through August 1, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on July 24, 2020, Governor Inslee issued Proclamation 20-19.3 extending the temporary prohibition on residential evictions and temporary rent protections for residential and commercial tenants statewide through October 15, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on July 31, 2020, I issued Executive Order 2020-09, which further extended the City’s temporary moratoriums on residential and commercial evictions of small business and non-profits through December 31, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on October 14, 2020, Governor Inslee issued Proclamation 20-19.4 further extending the temporary prohibition on residential evictions and temporary rent protections for residential and commercial tenants statewide through December 31, 2020; and
WHEREAS, on December 15, 2020, I issued Executive Order 2020-12, which further extended the City’s temporary moratoriums on residential and commercial evictions of small business and non-profits through March 31, 2021; and
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WHEREAS, on December 31, 2020, Governor Inslee issued Proclamation 20-19.5 further extending the temporary prohibition on residential evictions and temporary rent protections for residential and commercial tenants statewide through March 31, 2021; and
WHEREAS, on March 15, 2021, I issued Executive Order 2021-02, which further extended the City’s temporary moratoriums on residential and commercial evictions of small business and non-profits through June 30, 2021; and
WHEREAS, the continued number of cases and deaths in Seattle and King County shows that this pandemic continues to threaten the life and health of our people as well as the economy of the City of Seattle;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Jenny A. Durkan, Mayor of Seattle, hereby order City departments to further extend, cancel, or modify the following closures, suspensions, and relief measures to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic in our community and promote the health and well-being of the people of Seattle:
A. Rent Relief Measures i. Department of Finance and Administrative Services (FAS): Continue rent deferrals to for-profit tenants and rent abatement to FAS’ non-profit tenants through September 30, 2021. ii. Seattle Center: Continue current lease terms for non-profit tenants of Seattle Center to provide rent abatements through August 31, 2021. End current rent relief measures for for-profit food service tenants in the Armory effective June 30, 2021. iii. Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR): Continue rent deferrals to for-profit tenants and rent abatement to non-profit tenants through August 31, 2021. Notify tenants that August 31, 2021 will be the end of deferral and/or abatement rent relief measures for SPR tenants. Parks may provide an opportunity for some permanent rent relief for for-profit tenants who have experienced at least 25% reduction in sales between April 2020 and September 2021.
B. Emergency Moratorium on Residential Evictions On March 16, 2020, an Emergency Order was issued imposing a moratorium on residential evictions through May 14, 2020, or upon the termination of the Civil Emergency, whichever is earlier. Executive Order 2020-05 extended the moratorium through June 4, 2020, Executive Order 2020-06 extended the moratorium through August 1, 2020, Executive Order 2020-09 extended the moratorium through December 31, 2020, and Executive Order 2020-12 further extended the moratorium through March 31, 2021. In addition, Governor Inslee issued Proclamations 20-19.1, 20- 19.2, 20-19.3,20-19.4 and 20-19.5 that mandated a statewide moratorium on temporary prohibition of residential evictions and imposed other related prohibitions through March 31, 2021.
Given the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency, the Emergency Order, dated March 16, 2020, imposing a moratorium on residential evictions is hereby extended through September 30, 2021 at which point the Emergency Moratorium on Residential Evictions will sunset and Ordinance 126075, which provides a defense against evictions due to hardship from COVID-19 for six months, goes into effect.
C. Emergency Moratorium on Small Business and Non-Profit Commercial Tenant Evictions On March 17, 2020, an Emergency Order was issued imposing a moratorium on evictions of small business and non-profit commercial tenants through May 15, 2020, or upon the termination of the
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Proclamation of Civil Emergency, whichever is earlier. Executive Order 2020-05 extended the moratorium through June 4, 2020, Executive Order 2020-06 extended the moratorium through August 1, 2020, Executive Order 2020-09 extended the moratorium through December 31, 2020, and Executive Order 2020-12 further extended the moratorium through March 31, 2021.
Given the ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency, the Emergency Order, dated March 17, 2020, imposing a moratorium on evictions of small business and non-profit commercial tenants is hereby extended through September 30, 2021.
D. The Utility Discount Program’s Self-Certification Pilot Program, as announced in Executive Order 2020- 03, is hereby extended through September 30, 2021.
E. Utility relief flexible payment policies and shut-off policies, as announced in Executive Order 2020-03, and are hereby extended until the State of Washington’s utility moratorium on disconnection for nonpayment, as announced in Proclamation 20-23, et seq., on March 21, 2021 expires. Seattle City Light and Seattle Public Utilities will issue a directive to maintain flexible payment plan polices and to not resume disconnections for nonpayment through December 31, 2021.
F. Reopening of Closed Facilities as City departments begin to gradually reopen public-facing customer service counters. During the reopening, online and telephonic access should continue. Accessible communication to people with disabilities and to non-English speaking community members should also continue, to the greatest extent practicable. Please visit http://www.seattle.gov/departments for additional information on specific City Departments’ openings, closures, and modified hours/service delivery during COVID-19.
G. Suspensions i. Booting of vehicles with unpaid parking tickets, as announced on March 21, 2020, will remain suspended. ii. The current suspension of City issued permits for special events will end, and the City will resume the processing of special events permitting in accordance with Governor Inslee’s “Healthy Washington Recovery Plan” and all Washington State Department of Health and local Public Health – Seattle & King County allowances and guidelines. Allowable permitted activities are listed on the appropriate city department website. City staff shall continue to work with other government jurisdictions, under the guidance of local and state public health officials, regarding a coordinated approach toward resuming permitted events in accordance with the Governor Inslee’s “Healthy Washington – Roadmap to Recovery” plan.
H. Temporary Parking Zones: i. Temporary restaurant loading zones, as announced on March 21, 2020. ii. Temporary retail loading zones, as announced on May 14, 2020. iii. Temporary parking zones for hospital and human services staff, as announced on March 26, 2020 will be extended through July 31, 2021. I. All other temporary relief measures established by the American Rescue Plan and Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds including programs for small businesses, youth and families, human services and homelessness programs, and rental assistance.
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For all other COVID-19 legislation, emergency orders, closures, or relief measures announced by the City but not enumerated in this Executive Order, the City will monitor guidance and future orders from Public Health - Seattle & King County, as well as the county, state, and federal government before determining whether to extend their intended termination dates.
Any questions regarding this Executive Order should be directed to Senior Deputy Mayor Mike Fong, Office of the Mayor.
Dated this 18th day of June 2021
Jenny A. Durkan Mayor of Seattle